Strengthening True Sustainability through CSRD and CSDDD
From the start, the mission behind our initiatives like www.csrd.org has been clear: to champion genuinely transformative sustainability reporting. Together with influential partners including ASN Bank, True Price, Impact Economy Foundation, and others, we’ve built the Netherlands’ largest platform dedicated to promoting a sincere interpretation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Our initiatives, including the CSRD Awards, CSRD DAY, and the popular CSRD Academy, consistently advocate for integrity in sustainability reporting. Additionally, through Impatec, we offer accessible, transformative, impact-data-driven CSRD software tailored specifically for social enterprises and impact investors, fostering meaningful collaboration.
Key Areas to Enhance Sustainability Reporting and Due Diligence:
1. Prevent “Greywashing” in Sustainability Claims
To truly realise the CSRD’s potential, we must eliminate superficial compliance or “greywashing”—where companies use reporting to falsely portray sustainable credentials. Current practices sometimes enable exploitative, polluting operations to receive unwarranted credibility through reporting compliance. Rigorous methodologies and robust enforcement mechanisms are essential, ensuring sustainability claims genuinely reflect a company’s impact.
2. Foster EU Bottom-Up Implementation
Implementation of CSRD and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) should leverage the vast expertise within Europe’s existing impact-driven businesses rather than centralising power within large multinational accounting firms. Encouraging local SMEs and mission-driven enterprises to participate actively in the reporting process will stimulate innovation, resilience, and true sustainability at a grassroots level.
3. Protect and Support European ESG and Impact Innovators
Europe hosts numerous innovative ESG and impact data technology companies facing instability or takeover risks from US and Chinese market forces. Supporting these local innovators through targeted policy, funding, and collaboration ensures sustainability expertise remains within the EU, fostering sovereignty and competitiveness in ESG tech and protecting thousands of specialised, local jobs.
4. Connect Sustainability Data to Real Economic Outcomes
Reporting alone doesn’t inherently drive change. It must translate into tangible economic incentives through mechanisms like true pricing and impact-weighted accounting. Connecting CSRD and CSDDD data to economic decisions—such as public procurement, fiscal policies, and financial regulations—will ensure that sustainable performance translates directly into financial advantages or penalties, compelling companies to make authentic improvements.
To dive deeper, read our Dutch NRC opinion piece on the critical analysis of recent EU policy developments: “The Green Deal Has Been Watered Down; Now Companies Must Step Up”. And find the webinar on this subject.
Join us in building a genuinely sustainable economy, rooted in authentic reporting and impactful action.
